sábado, 3 de dezembro de 2011

Ginger White, the woman alleging she had a 13-year-long extramarital affair with Herman Cain, apologized to Cain's wife and kids Thursday.
"I am deeply, deeply sorry if I have caused any hurt to her and to
his kids, to his family. That was not my intention," White said in an interview with MSNBC. "I never wanted to hurt anyone and I'm deeply sorry. I am very sorry.
"I am not a cold-hearted person," White continued. "I am a mother of
two kids. And of course my heart bleeds for this woman because I am a
woman and being in a situation like this can not be fun."
White publicly alleged she had a longterm affair with Cain on Monday, becoming the fifth woman to accuse the Republican presidential candidate of inappropriate behavior. The accusations prompted Cain to announce he was "reassessing" his campaign and consulting with his wife.
Even as she apologized, White continued to reveal details of what she refers to as her "inappropriate" relationship with Cain, alleging that sex was involved.
"I know that travel was involved and I know that sex was involved,"
White said. "I would never lie about that... I think that (Cain) is
just, you know, telling parts of the truth."
White -- who claims she "never asked" Cain to leave his wife -- said she would be "surprised" if Gloria Cain didn't know about the affair. The GOP candidate has stated differently, claiming his wife didn't know he and White were friends until the affair accusations were made.

MANCHESTER - Herman Cain acknowledged Thursday
that he repeatedly gave Ginger White money to help her with
"month-to-month bills and expenses" without telling his wife of more
than 40 years.

In fact, the embattled presidential candidate
said, his wife, Gloria, "did not know that we were friends until she
(White) came out with this story" alleging that the two had a 13-year
extramarital affair.

In his most candid interview since the
latest allegations emerged, Cain adamantly maintained that he and White
were no more than friends.

Cain
also stated clearly for the first time that as a result of the constant
controversy he has been facing, he is considering getting out of the
presidential race.

Asked whether leaving the race is one of the
options he is currently assessing, Cain said, “Yes, it is an option.”
Regarding his decision, he said, "You will know by next week" as he
takes the weekend to reassess where he stands in the campaign.

Cain said he believes that “someone offered (White) a lot of money” to make the allegation. He said he can't prove it.

Overall,
Cain told the New Hampshire Union Leader, “One of the things that I
have learned in this situation is that running for President has become a
very dirty game. It's a dirty game - OK?”

Cain also said he
believes there is a concerted effort by “a network of people,” both
Democrats and Republicans, to bring him down.

Cain said that in
about 70 text messages White sent him between Oct. 22 and Nov. 18, she
was "asking for financial assistance because she was out of work, had
trouble paying her bills and I had known her as a friend.

"She
wasn't the only friend who I had helped in these tough economic times,
and so her messages to me were relating to ‘needed money for her rent'
or whatever the case may be. I don't remember all the specifics."

Cain
said White told him in the texts that she did not have a job and was
unable to get financial help from her family, "and that quite frankly, I
was the only person who was a friend at the time - and I underscore
‘friend' - that was in a position to help her.

"I'm a soft-hearted person when it comes to that stuff. I have helped members of my church. I have helped members of my family.

"And
I know a lot of other people who had done the same thing. She was
asking me to help her, and sometimes, quite frankly, it was
desperation," Cain said.

Cain said that in 17 reported texts back to her, he would respond with messages such as, "What are you doing to get a job?"

Cain said he did give Ginger White money, but, on the advice of counsel, he said, he refused to say how much.

And,
he acknowledged, "My wife did not know about it, and that was the
revelation. My wife found out about it when she went public with it."

Not
only didn't his wife not know about the financial assistance, he said,
but she also "did not know we were friends until she (White) came out
with this story.

"My wife now knows," Cain said. "My wife and I
have talked about it and I have explained it to her. My wife understands
that I'm a soft-hearted giving person."

He said his wife "is comfortable with the explanation that I told her."

Cain
said that in retrospect he should have told his wife about his
friendship with White sooner, "but retrospect doesn't necessarily change
what's going on now."

He said White never threatened him with
going public with the allegation of an affair if Cain did not give her
money, "nor was there any indication that there might be blackmail or
anything like that.

"I thought I was helping a friend, end of story," he said.

Cain
said he does not know why White has gone public with the allegation,
"but I have very strong speculation that someone offered her a lot of
money.

"I was helping her with month-to-month bills and expenses, and somebody _ this is speculation only _ offered her a lot of money.

"And one of my objectives is to clear my name and my reputation," Cain said.

Cain
said the two "struck up a friendship" many years ago when she attended a
conference in Louisville, Ky., where he was the keynote speaker.

He
said that although he is considering leaving the race, “We weren't
slowing down" in the campaign. "We're keeping all commitments and we're
reassessing several things.

“So, yes, getting out is an option," he said. "That just meant we were not going put the brakes on until” he made his decision.

Cain said he intends to meet with his wife and family members during the weekend as part of his reassessment of his campaign.

He said he will leave the race if his wife asks him to do so, “but my wife wouldn't ask me to get out.

“I
would make a decision based on how all of this stuff is affecting her,
because I will put her first,” he said. “But she's not the type to say,
‘You ought to get out.'”

Other than family, Cain said he would leave the race if campaign contributions dry up.

“If
financial backers started to not want to contribute, because _ and I've
heard this from some people _ they see this cloud not going away.

“I
haven't been convicted of anything except in the court of public
opinion, but the media drives the court of public opinion,” he said.

“Every
time a new story comes on TV, it mentions sexual harassment charges.
That's inaccurate because they were found baseless. I call them false
accusations.

“They were false. They were not proven, so every
time they are called sexual harassment charges, that just keeps saying
to people sexual harassment, rather than false accusation.

“So,
understandably, some people might say I can't get the nomination with
this cloud, so they're going to stop giving,” he said.

Cain said
that while some in the media are “professional, there are some that are
truly not professional. Those that love to play ‘gotcha' politics.”

He
also said politicians have an audience in “the political class,” as
well as “the third audience,” which, he said, is “we the people.”

“I
have got totally difference responses and reactions from those three
audiences,” he said. “The establishment says it's a distraction to the
party. It is.

“The establishment says, ‘You can't get the nomination because of the cloud.' Maybe, but that's the way they think.

“The
people are ones who are saying, ‘We love your solutions, your optimism.
Don't drop out, if that's an option.' But it's always got to be an
option. It's like a business,” Cain said.

As for the motive
behind the latest allegations and earlier allegations that he sexually
harassed former co-workers at the National Restaurant Association, Cain
has said that “they” are “attacking” him and and his “character, my
reputation and my name, in order to bring me down.”

He said
Thursday, “The ‘they,' I believe, is a network of people who would not
like to seem me challenge President Barack Obama as the Republican
nominee.

“I believe some of them are Democrats and there might be
some Republicans. I don't fit the traditional paradigm. So, when I say
‘they,' it's not just one side of the aisle. I believe there is a
tendency on both sides of the aisle,” he said.

The interview
lasted about an hour and included Union Leader Publisher Joseph McQuaid,
editorial page director Andrew Cline and senior political reporter John
DiStaso. An earlier interview, scheduled for two weeks ago, was
canceled at the last minute due to a disagreement over how much time
Cain would be available to speak to the newspaper.

(For more on our interview with Herman Cain, see the New Hampshire Sunday News and UnionLeader.com on Sunday.)